SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Stock Passes Below 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) shares crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.63 and traded as low as $31.14. SmartFinancial shares last traded at $31.19, with a volume of 57,833 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SMBK. Stephens lowered SmartFinancial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SmartFinancial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.70.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.61. The stock has a market cap of $538.67 million, a PE ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SmartFinancial

In related news, Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn purchased 1,162 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $34.75 per share, for a total transaction of $40,379.50. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 96,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,368,595.50. This trade represents a 1.21 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SmartFinancial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SMBK. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in SmartFinancial by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 184,555 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,378,000 after acquiring an additional 35,565 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of SmartFinancial by 78.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,848 shares of the bank’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 10,055 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of SmartFinancial by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 335,501 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in SmartFinancial by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 14,925 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in SmartFinancial by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 340,418 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,920,000 after buying an additional 139,009 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

SmartFinancial Company Profile

SmartFinancial, Inc operates as the bank holding company for SmartBank that provides various financial services to individuals and corporate customers in Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. It operates through Commercial Real Estate, Consumer Real Estate, Construction and Land Development, Commercial and Industrial, Leases, and Consumer and Other segments.